Suburban Flyman - watery diary of a north Bristol surfing angler...

Various diary updates of fishing, wildlife, surfing and kayaking trips predominantly in the West and South West of England. Living near Bristol (UK) many of the blogs will be focussed around this area. This blog is purely to help or inspire others to get out there and do the same.

Monday, 20 May 2019

Had some lovely late afternoon/evening sessions on River Chew and Bristol Frome. The Chew was incredibly low in level. I wonder whether Bristol Water are managing the flow in this way but question the impact on the fish who are struggling hard to find deeper pools. Nevertheless I found some good spirited mid sized Brownies falling to the dry as Mayfly were steady in coming off. No big fish though but lots of parr which is a good sign.

Meanwhile the Bristol Frome babbles away beneath the busiest of Bristol roads harbouring some wonderful fish. So far on the dry I have netted Dace getting on for a 1lb and some really solid Browns still managing to sustain a reasonable population.

Saturday, 11 May 2019

Wonderful evening on lower River Chew. I fished a long section that a fellow fly fisherman, Charles Fishwish Halliday, and I had tended to on the weekend before. We had made some access points, unblocked some tree falls, undertaken some sympathetic pruning to open canopy and positioned fallen branches to increase flow. It was remarkable how much work we had done in a day. Today I was reaping the benefits casting to the pools I had planned and yes they were full of rising fish. Mayfly were starting to trickle off and the fish were sipping and hitting my dry with enthusiasm. A nymph never left my box. The other good thing was the variety in size from small par just a few inches to really good wild Browns of over a pound.

The best of the bunch in the net was a good 14" fish and this was just after a colossal struggle and line break a few casts before. Weather getting warmer in late teens with the odd light shower.

Monday, 6 May 2019

Spent a few days of May bank holiday weekend being hosted at Red's Teifi retreat on a caravan site in the middle of the Welsh hills. The nights were blooming cold dropping to near freezing and I had leaky waders so I don't think my feet really felt comfortable at any point in the 48 hrs. We were spinning primarily using Mepps or I occasionally tried a Black Minnow. Our target species was Salmon or Sea Trout but I was happy with some good spirited nice sized wild Brownies. Just one day I will buy that lottery ticket and cast to a pool that contains a responsive migratory fish but not this weekend.

On the last day Red had a few casts with the fly rod while I spent an hour just taking in the scenery.

Sunday, 28 April 2019

Colder but the odd sunny interval following a bit of rain and a period of unseasonably strong winds. The Wellow remained fairly clear and as I slipped in the water I could see rises ahead which gave me hope. I immediately put on a dry and started to cover fish. Predominant hatches were Large Dark Olives. Within the first few casts I had targeted and hooked several beautiful browns on the dry. Although there were head and tail rises most were just sips creating dimples as the flies emerged. My go to dry is the klink and delivered today tempting 80% of the fish I targeted and bringing rises from blind casts in likely runs.

Lots of breeding birds today with Green Woodpecker nesting in an Alder above, another pair of Mandarin Ducks looking for hollowed trees and Kingfishers nesting high in an earth bank above a deeper pool. I settled on a log further upstream and a metre to my right was alerted by a Robin feeding its young between nettles in the bank. I am acutely aware of disturbance so never stop long to ensure the parents are not adversely affected. What surprised Red and myself today was the changes in the river from last season. Some new pools had been created where banks had been undercut and some old pools had now become runs where deposits had changed the river direction.

Pleasure to be out today with Red netting at least half a dozen trout obliging to the dry. First Mayfly also clocked drifting through the shady sunshine.

Saturday, 20 April 2019

After a blank first session on Wellow I was keen to use the warm spell to open my account. I'd hooked several on dry and nymph on the Wellow on the first Saturday in April but for whatever reason I could not get them to the net. The Cam meanders through wooded glades and is generally siltier than Wellow and harder to wade so care is required particularly when water clarity is not at its best. The fish appear to be more localised in pockets but are quite often a larger than average size. I love this stretch as it is partially covered in mature woodland offering a cacophony of bird song in the spring.

After a an hour of not locating fish I finally found a section of 30 metres or so where I hooked three lovely browns on the nymph taking Grannom emergers. My final fish was a bit of surprise a large Rainbow in the shade of a usually unproductive run. It rose in front of me just 10 yards ahead. A trusty Klink delivered a yard ahead of the rise and it was on pulling me all around the little river. I was pleased that my 3lb leader remained intact. Fish are not stocked here so it must have travelled some distance from the Midford.

A pair of Mandarin Duck where on the river looking for nest sites in the hollowed trees. A lovely session in the spring sunshine not seeing another person in three hours.

Sunday, 24 February 2019

It had been two years since I had last fished the shores of Tenerife and not a lot has changed. Fished loads of spots with my youngest James on the lure and with a variety of seafood baits but primarily squid. Fished areas up the South East coast including Abades and Las Galletas as well as Palm Mar. On the lure we managed to tempt a few Trumpet fish and the ever present Lizard Fish mainly to the Black Minnow. I did have follows from escapee Bass but no takes. I find it absolutely amazing that the predatory fish are so limited near the shore on this volcanic island mid Atlantic even though we fished some really deep marks. On the float with Size 12 hook we landed many mini species including Canarian Damsel, Boga, Canarian Rockfish, Canarian Puffer and Ornate Wrasse. The tide had a noticeable impact on fishing with incoming tide always way more productive.

Spent great 10 days in Tenerife surfing and fishing with family. After a long few months without surf apprehensively took on a great long period swell that was hitting the Las Americas peninsula. Surfed 7 out of 10 days and the days we missed the surf still pumped. Surfed primarily with middle son Henry who really started to gain confidence on some pretty decent days. First session we went to our previous main stay of El Medio which is effectively the break on the outside of Spanish Left. It produces good lefts itself and a slower right. Unfortunately the place is crammed with all levels of surfers now and getting an unmolested wave is difficult. It is easy though with paddling out either across flat rock or from the shit pipe that stretches out in front on McDonalds. Despite good waves it was tough to get a decent ride and the locals were getting heated as proficient soft boarders covered every wave.

As the week wore on and the swell jacked to overhead on some of the exposed spots we found La Fitenia was showing good form. This is the last point before the Los Christianos breakwater. It was smaller but wound off beautifully down a right hand point. For days we shared this wave with just a handful of friendly locals and tourists. Wind was gentle breeze to howling offshore and it was unseasonably warm with temps hitting 27C. The one downside was the parking which has now become an absolute nightmare on any weekday with no spaces even before sunrise. I have created a little map as I find all the spots here confusing here with multiple names.

About Me

I appreciate all types of fishing including both fresh and saltwater, game and coarse. I love kayaking and regularly fish from a kayak with friends and family.
I am interested in all wildlife and this coincides nicely with my main activities of surfing, fishing and kayaking where many of my most privileged experiences have taken place.
I live near Bristol, and fish a variety of local patches always trying to mix it up, fishing less popular locations just to seek out surprises. Some of my favoured locations are: the Bristol Frome, Wellow Brook and the River Chew. Further a field I fish Cornwall’s trout streams, Wiltshire’s Nadder and Hampshire Avon, together with the South and Cornish Coast.
I surf and its usually at Woolacombe, Kimmeridge, Penhale or Fistral. If I am lucky enough to be on Tenerife during the Winter months I will surf or fish on the South West coast. somewhere.